Aeternum Et Semper
by Dommy who's a dummy
Summary: SS RM but eventually RT. Veronica's wedding brings Taylor back to Newport. Ryan is with Marissa. Taylor is a workaholic. Will ANYTHING happen? Summary sucks 'cause I don't do summaries. Read. Or don't. Ryan and Taylor will always end up together. Even in AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to me. Seriously. I am this amazing. Oh wait. My imagination is not reality. Damn, I forget that every day.

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The wedding was only 2 weeks from today. '_How could she do this to me? Two weeks? TWO WEEKS?_' Taylor sighed and looked at her answering machine. It was blinking red and the number showed 5. She groaned but pressed play knowing it would be better to get it over with.

"_Hey girlfriend!_" Summer's voice came through._ "Guess what I just heard. Veronica, getting married, two weeks from now! How crazy is that? How come you didn't inherit this spontaneous gene? Never mind. I gotta go, taking Pancakes to the vet. Seth fed him chocolate. Why is he so stupid? Why did I fall in love with a child? Ew. That sounds so gross. Whatevs. Bye Honey! Come home soon!_" Taylor smiled at Summer's life. It was a lot crazier but a helluva more interesting. Next message wasn't as pleasing.

"_Taylor. I'm getting married in two weeks. You should have gotten the invitation. I paid extra for it to be delivered today. Also you need to be my maid of honour. I don't want any of these women to gossip about how much it took me to actually get into my wedding dress. I'll explain when you get here. I expect you to come in a week at most for the rehearsals._" Taylor hit the back of her head on the door frame as there was a moment of silence on the message. "_Bye._"

"_Hi. Is your mortgage rate-_" She quickly hit the delete button.

"_Check your account from your phone-_" She deleted that one too.

"_Babe, I'm gonna be a bit late._" She stared at the machine with tears forming behind her eyes. "_I just need to pick up the milk. I'm sorry, I forgot again. But when I see you I will repay in the most rewarding way you can think of. It includes a looooot of chocolate syrup-_" The machine cut the voice off. Taylor smiled sadly but pressed delete as well. She walked to the freezer, took out Ben 'n' Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream and sat on her couch whilst opening her laptop.

"Okay Taylor. Let's make a list of pros and cons of the wedding. Con, it's my mother. Pro, I can...spend some time in Newport...and watch Ryan and Marissa sucking faces...and have every single person I hate, hate me right back...yeah, that sounds more and more like a con. On the other hand, if I don't go I will go through another decade of terrorism from my mother. Over the phone. Argh!" She threw her head back. "It's a doom situation either way." She reached for her cell phone and dialled Seth's number.

"_Hey, hey! You're disturbing me in the Fortress of Solitude. But I can make an exception and walked out since it is kinda freezing. Did you watch it?_" He sounded bored. Seth always sounded bored these days.

"No. Didn't have time. But listen. The wedding. Yay or nay?" She could just picture Seth trying to think of the answer which would make least damage.

"_Yay. Summer's making me go and with you it can at least be interesting. We can discuss the evolution of rabies and how useful a new plague would be._"

"Oh so I take it someone took your parking space at the mall again?" She grinned into the phone and took another scoop of ice cream.

"_It's like another universe. These women are vicious and violent and I'm just a poor skinny guy who tries to go and pick up my favourite comics whilst my girlfriend lounges about and tans with her best friend. Ryan is too busy being whipped and...Yeah, I just realized that I'm an ass. Sorry Ty._" She rolled her eyes.

"Seth, please. If you're not talking about how much others are inconveniencing your life then no one else should matter. I kid of course. Seth, seriously, it's fine. I'm over it."

"_Then let me continue on talking about myself and how much Ryan/Seth time I'm missing because of my best friend's girlfriend and because of my girlfriend's best friend. She is evil. See, women's solidarity._"

"Seth, you're not a woman. And the only reason why you think Marissa is evil is because you're bored."

"_Are you not gonna solider me back right after I soldered you? I find that offensive._"

"Your face is offensive."

"_And that is just pure mean. But about the wedding, yeah, you should come. I've seen you but Summer hasn't. She misses you._"

"I hate it when you convince me. I guess I'll see you next week. Bye Aquaman." She grinned knowing how he'd react to that name.

"_How dare you? That is the biggest insult I've ever heard-_" She hanged up on him yelling at her and continued eating ice cream. She turned on the TV on her laptop. She didn't have an actual one. Her apartment was actually pretty basic. It was a bachelor pad next to a police station. LA has taught her that knowing how far away the police are is the most important thing. The neighbourhood wasn't exactly safe but a girl could get home without being bothered at 3 am at night. Her bedroom was linked with the living room and the kitchen was on the left separated from the living room by a build in bar. The whole apartment was painted in dark green. The whole place looked new even though she's lived there for 6 years now. 4 since she graduated from Berkeley with Ryan and Marissa. It never felt like home. Neither did Newport to be honest. The only place that ever did feel like home was at Berkley when she was still with Ryan. And Matt's car. Matt's car. Tears started forming again. Taylor shook them off and put the ice cream on the table. "Let's do some work, shall we? Yes Taylor who speaks to herself. We shall."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

She saved up exactly 14 days off work. Her boss was not pleased about losing her best translator for 2 whole weeks but he understood. When she walked out of the airport she expected to take a cab to her mother's but instead a jeep stopped right in front of her and she was attacked by a bush of black curls. She stepped back and Summer leeched onto her. Taylor realized that she was being hugged and spun her friend in circles whilst hugging her back. Summer finally let go and took a good look.

"Damn girl. You're looking good. LA does you good." Taylor laughed and looked at the jeep she recognized so well. Ryan didn't even look at her but Marissa on the passenger seat shot her a small smile.

"You guys shouldn't park here." Summer hit her shoulder.

"Don't be stupid. We're here to pick you up." Taylor raised her eyebrows at the girl.

"Summer. I have luggage and I'm going to my mother's. You really wanna see her? I'm just gonna take the cab. It's fine." She actually moved to a cab whilst she was talking.

"Fine. But I'm coming with you. You two..." She faced Ryan and Marissa. "...go and entertain Seth. He's too bored."

"Are you sure? Summer, we can just follow you guys." Marissa said whilst she glanced at the security guard coming their way.

"Coop, I hate to break it to ya but we need to go take a break. For at least an hour." Marissa just laughed.

"Okay, see you later. Come on Ryan." Taylor could see that he gave his girlfriend a smile in the rear-view mirror. However when he glanced into it she had to look away so he didn't realize that she stared at him. They drove off and Summer got into the cab.

"Taylor?" She stuck her head out at the girl who stared after the jeep. "You coming?"

"Yeah." She smiled and gave her bags to the cab driver. "Yeah. I'm completely fine."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

"Taylor. Good. You're on time. You can't stay here though. The house is in complete preparation for the wedding and I turned your room into a gym." Was what greeted Taylor Townsend when she walked into her mother's house. Summer looked at her friend.

"Wow. Hi mom. You're pregnant." Yes, in fact Veronica Townsend was 7 months pregnant. And Taylor knew nothing about it.

"Very observant darling, but you need to get your luggage out of here. The harpists are meant to come any second now and you're blocking the entrance."

"Harpists?" Summer couldn't believe her ears. "As in PLURAL?"

"Yes Summer. What is it with you two today? Do you need a doctor?" Veronica frowned but someone called at that moment and she went to answer. Taylor stood with her mouth opened.

"Where am I supposed to stay?"

"Well your room at the Roberts residence is still open. Kaitlin tried to take over it but I wouldn't let her. The only downside to it is that the nursery is next door to it." Summer said. Taylor sighed. One the one hand, she needed a place to stay. On the other, she'd have to stay in the same house as Marissa Cooper.

"I don't want to impose. I think I'll just stay at the motel." Summer hit her shoulder. "Ow. Did you get stronger? Well, Seth is the perfect punching bag." The black haired girl took her luggage and called a cab on her cell.

"Hey! Summer! That's my stuff!" Taylor ran after her.

"Townsend. You're stupid. And you're staying at my house." Tyler rolled her eyes. "Besides. We haven't hanged out in two years. We need some sistah time."

"Why do you sound so much like Seth sometimes?"

"I know. It's tragic."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

When Summer went to hang out with Marissa, Taylor took her car to go to the comic store. There was a geeky teenager behind the desk.

"Hi." He grinned at her in this leery way. "Can I help you?"

"No thanks." She send him a bright smile. "I know my way about this place." He looked surprised but nodded and went back to his phone. Taylor looked around through the new issues, she already read them all online and she stopped collecting them a while back. After Matt said that it was stupid. She left the store pretty quickly and decided to walk around.

"Taylor!" Someone called her name. She turned to see it was Seth. With Ryan. She smiled at her friend. He ran up and hugged her tightly. Ryan walked rather slowly to catch up to them.

"Hey. So what have I missed in the last week?" Seth beamed.

"I made some life changing plans." He told her. Taylor looked from him to Ryan, from Ryan back to him.

"Oh God. You're not proposing again, are you?" Seth's face froze in a grin. "Well, at least this time, get her a real ring, with a diamond, not one that glows in the dark. Or one that does AND has a diamond in it."

"Forget about my plans. What about you? How have you been? Wanna get coffee? I'm trying not to talk about myself." Taylor smiled.

"Nah. Besides, you have your Ryan/Seth time right now. God forbid somebody interrupted that." In the corner of her eye, she saw Ryan look at her in that moment. "I'm gonna go and stalk something." Seth grabbed her arms.

"Go to the pet store. That store. Just go. It's like heaven. With soft moving pillows." Taylor scrunched her nose at him.

"Ew. See you later."

"Actually yeah you will. Me, Ryan here, Summer and Marissa are going out to eat on The Boat. It's a new restaurant. It's on a boat."

"Very creative."

"Yeah but you should come. We're meeting there at 8. Reservations under Roberts."

"See ya Seth. Ryan." She nodded and walked away as fast as she could. Being in his presence just made her feel so small. Once upon a time he didn't. Once upon a time he made her feel special. Loved. And now she was alone. All alone. And second best.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own this show. I own my soul though.

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After their first year of college they went away for the summer. He told her it would be fine. The long distance relationships made them stronger. She believed in all that. He went to spend the vacation with the Cohens and she went to Paris. She wrote him every day but that was her. He knew that. He loved that. He replied only once a week. Maybe every two weeks. He missed her so much. One day though, Marissa came back into his life. She stayed at the Cohens to get used to Berkeley. And he knew then and there that he and Taylor were done for.

He felt like an ass.

He promised Taylor he wasn't going to play with her. He loved her so much. He knew every single one of her insecurities and he was going to destroy her. He was evil. He got drunk. He kissed Marissa. Then Marissa kissed him back. Then their clothes were off. Then in the morning the aftermath set in.

Taylor came back the next week from France. He drove out to Newport to see her and tell her what he did. He drove to break it off with her. When she saw him, she was so happy. Her french kept on getting mixed with her English. She kept on touching him. Even the slightest touch burned his skin. He felt guilty. He took her out on the beach to talk. He said that this wasn't working out. That it was him not her. That he didn't love her anymore. The usual stuff. He saw in her eyes the tears forming but then she put on this fake smile he knew so well and the tears were gone.

"It's Marissa isn't it? It's always been her? I've just been another one that passed through. I wasn't special at all was I?" She said those words to him in a whisper but he felt as if she was spitting them at him in a rage. And that smile. That fake smile. It made him feel so guilty. He tried to deny it but he knew he was a bad liar. No other girl compared to Marissa. Not even Taylor who was a close second.

He left her on the beach. He knew she wouldn't break down in a public place. He saw her sometime at school. She got thinner. Always wore that fake smile. Always just by herself. He and Marissa became a couple again. And had again dramas. But they stayed together. Never straying. He was happy. Then Matt came along in third year. Matt tried to repair Taylor. That was his job not Matt's. But he wasn't with Taylor. Matt was. He didn't dare to go near her. He feared he'd cause more damage. But Matt tried to fix her. Marissa and he moved in together. So did Matt and Taylor.

Then in the fourth year Matt was gone. Matt left her for another girl. Like he did. He saw even less of Taylor now on campus. She looked like she was starving herself. She looked like she was hopeless. But he wasn't supposed to care about that. He and Marissa were having a baby. Taylor found out from Summer who still called. Seth came out to visit her. Summer wouldn't do that. Summer was Marissa's best friend first. A month later, Marissa miscarried. Taylor came to see him one night when he was leaving to go see Marissa.

"Ryan. I heard about the baby. I'm sorry for your loss. And Marissa. I'm sorry." He didn't reply. He stared at her and then nodded. He caused her so much pain yet she...He loved her. He realized that he loved her more than he could ever love Marissa. But Marissa needed him. Taylor needed him too but Marissa was more important. He decided he'd tell her how he felt at the end of the year.

He didn't. She left for LA. He moved to San Francisco. Got a job at a firm, 'Jenkins'. Marissa didn't like it there and went back to Newport. He stayed for a year but then Marissa gave him an ultimatum. He either moved back or she'd make his life hell. He moved back. Got a job as a manager. He tried not to think about her and he succeeded. Until Summer came into his apartment.

"Guess what Atwood! Taylor's mother's getting hitched. In two weeks. Can you come with me to pick her up from the airport next week?" He agreed. "Good. Why are you so broody?" He shrugged and eventually Summer left. And Ryan. Ryan realized that this was his chance. His chance to get the girl of his dreams and get out of this town.

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Taylor came early. Too early. She had time to walk a bit on the beach. She didn't hate the beach. She just got a bit more sad when she remembered what happened on it.

"Taylor." She looked away from the sea to see Ryan standing in front of her. He was dressed up. Silky purple shirt. "You're early."

"So are you." She smiled politely and walked on.

"Yeah." He followed her. "Sorry about earlier today. I just-"

"Ryan it's okay." She cut him off. "I'm only here for a couple of days. I'll be out of yours and Marissa's way soon." He looked surprised.

"No, Taylor. That's not what I meant to say."

"Then what did you?" She looked politely at him. '_That's it Taylor. Don't let him see that he affected you._'

"I...I uh..." She smirked at his poor attempts at an explanation.

"Ryan you should stop. The best thing you do is choke." She walked back into the direction of the restaurant. Ryan grabbed her wrist feeling an electric jolt and she turned to look at him.

"Taylor. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I didn't want to but I killed any chance I had of you trusting me. I'm sorry." Taylor freed her wrist, she felt the jolt too.

"You don't get it Ryan. I'm fine." She said with that fake smile and walked to the restaurant.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

The dinner was awkward. Summer and Seth, Marissa and Ryan, and Taylor. She was the fifth wheel.

"So the vet said that Pancakes will be alright but who knows. You could have killed her Seth." Summer said and stabbed her salad with her fork.

"I would never kill our daughter." Seth protested. Taylor giggled at the two. She really did miss having them around on daily basis.

"Whatever. So Townsend. Tell these two losers about your awesome job." Summer smiled at her. Taylor glanced at Ryan and Marissa.

"It's not really that amazing. I'm a translator who goes to other countries twice a week. And I can translate from anywhere by e-mail. So yeah. That's my job." Marissa nodded.

"Well that sounds really great Taylor. You get to see the world. Must be exciting. I've always wanted to travel."

"Yeah, it's exciting when you have money and a place at to stay but if you're stuck in Madrid without that and your visa expires the next day not so much fun. Plus they put me on the terrorist alert." Seth spat his drink all over Marissa and doubled over in laughter. Taylor glared. "It's not that funny Seth. Things like that just happen to me."

"Why am I not surprised you're on the terrorist alert?" Summer questioned.

"Maybe because I'm crazy." She smiled at her friend. Marissa, whose hair was dripping, didn't look amused. Taylor's cell rang.

"Sorry, my boss." She stood up to go outside with it. "Yes Mr Jenkins?"

"_Taylor, I'm really sorry to ask this of you, especially since you're on leave, but this is very important. I've got big international clients breathing down my neck. I send you these documents by express delivery already. Taylor this is very, very important._"

"Yes Mr Jenkins. I'll get on it as soon as possible." She hanged up. Her boss sometimes was a miracle in disguise. She needed something to not be bored for the next 5 days. She went back in, Marissa was whispering to the rest but when she saw Taylor approaching however she stopped. Taylor just ignored it though. Not the first time someone was whispering about her and definitely not the last.

"Everything alright?" Summer asked.

"Yeah, just got some work to do. So I won't be bored too much." Seth hugged her one-handed.

"Forget it Taylor. Every time you're bored just find me and I'll entertain you. How about tomorrow we have a Bleach marathon."

"Sounds good. But can we make it Fullmetal Alchemist instead. I haven't seen it in YEARS." Seth nodded and he sat up straight all of the sudden. "What is wrong with you?"

"Food." He nodded to the waitress coming towards them. They ate in awkward silence for a while.

"So Taylor, you seeing anyone?" Marissa asked her. Summer rolled her eyes at the girl.

"No, I don't really have time you know. One night stands there and here but having an actual relationship where I feel comfortable enough to actually stalk the other person; I haven't had that in years." Silence followed. Seth gave Ryan a look. "But I'm over sharing too much. How have you been Marissa? I mean Summer told me you opened your own clothing store."

"Yes. It's been great so far. My mom and Kaitlin have been helping me out lots which is great. I think I used that word way too many times." She laughed nervously. "Kaitlin is going to community college so she's around to help."

"Kaitlin. How is she? Last time I saw her she was an angry 17 year old." Taylor asked.

"Kaitlin grew up." Summer answered. "This chicken is sooooooo good."

"Please, continue on ripping the flesh off that bone. I am not disturbed by this." Seth said to his girl who just shrugged and continued on eating the chicken. The conversation slowly picked up again between Summer, Seth and Marissa. Taylor didn't really participate and Ryan only threw a few words in the conversation. At 11 Taylor decided she was too tired to stay and if she had more wine she'd say things she'd regret. So instead she told them she'd see them at home. The beach at night was beautiful. The sea was peaceful and nobody bothered her. She missed the simplicity of living here.

Everything seemed easier here than in LA. Less forced. Taylor sat on the sand and thought about what she was doing here. Yes, it was her mother's wedding but Newport was filled with memories of Ryan. She didn't want that. The night he broke up with her was awful. She couldn't leave her room because everything reminded her too much of him. And then Berkeley came and then Matt.

Taylor closed her eyes as the water slowly rising reached her feet.

Matt was a blessing in disguise. He helped her get over Ryan. Well, he at least made her forget Ryan for a little while. But then he broke it off because he met someone new. Less damaged. And this time she wasn't crushed. She was sad for a long time but glad that he was having a normal life. Taylor often wondered if she'd ever find the happiness that Marissa had.

Marissa was perfection. She had better grades than Taylor without even trying, she was liked by everyone whilst Taylor was excluded, and she and Ryan always got back together like magnets whilst Taylor to Ryan was just another girl he dated. And now Marissa had a clothing store whilst Taylor worked as a translator. She didn't even like her job; it was always supposed to be temporary until she could open her therapeutic practice. It's been temporary for about 2 years now. Taylor sighed and opened her eyes. The moon shined brightly above the water that was now up to her ankles. Her dress was ruined, that's for sure, but the water just seemed so alluring. She looked around to see practically nobody there; it was a late Monday night in May so she figured there'd be no one around. She stood up and stripped off her dress, and then she took out the clip, letting her hair fall loosely. She took off her underwear and walked slowly into the water. It was freezing but thrilling at the same time.

When the water reached her torso she stopped.

'_So I'm in the water. What now?_' She thought to herself. Taylor Townsend was naked in the sea and she had no idea what to do. So she just settled for swimming for a bit and then coming back to get dressed. '_I guess skinny dipping is more fun when you're with someone else and you actually jump into the water instead just walk in like a Lady Godiva or whatever._' She walked back to the Roberts mansion slowly with her shoes in her hand and her feet covered in sand, her skin reflected the moon light because it was still wet. If anyone saw her right now, they'd think she was one of those crazy nature freaks. But nobody did see her. Not even when she let herself into the house.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The OH MY GOD IT IS A GHOST. Pfft.

**A/N:** For the two kind souls that gave me such wonderful reviews. I will share my last meal on earth with you. Seriously. I love you two. Anyways.There is not enough RT fanfics out there guys. NOT ENOUGH. Also, sorry for too much detail, I do that often. And I'm trying to finish this in 8 chapters or less. And yes, it IS an RT ff. And I'm sorry Taylor doesn't seem like Taylor from the series. She went through a lot in my head. But I think Matt needed to be mentioned because he also made her mature so she's not a drama queen or whatever. Yeah. Again. Sorry. This chapter is kinda messed up. If you don't like the story, don't read. Simple. If you do, please review! :)

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It's been 3 days since Monday and Taylor has been cooped up in her room doing her work. These papers were pretty important and legal to the point where she had to reach for a dictionary to even understand some of the words. Not to mention that she had to translate them from English into 4 other languages. The only breaks she got were 2 hours of sleeping and Julie bringing her lunch and dinner. Taylor needed to finish these papers by today because tomorrow was her mother's rehearsals for the wedding. Summer burst into her room when she was concentrating hard on the meaning of the term '_moratorium_'.

"Hey Townsend. You've been in here for 3 days straight. It's Friday. Let's go out and do something." Summer sat a big chair next to the bookcase.

"Go with Marissa. I'm busy." Taylor replied quickly. Summer hurt by this remark, stood up. "Wait." Summer stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just need to get this done by today and I only have a paragraph left." Summer's face softened and she sat on the bed next to the auburn haired girl.

"What are you having trouble with?"

"Well, everything, but this one is the hardest one for me to comprehend. I mean, I know I'm intelligent but I haven't had a good night of sleep in over a month and everything is sounding like gibberish and I haven't had sex in such a long time and a girl has her needs and stupid Ryan is so dreamy even after two years when I don't want him to be and I wanted him to be amazed at how awesome I am and I wanted him to lose!" She said the last part a bit too loud.

"Oooh-kay." Summer soothed her by patting her on the shoulder. "How about this? I'll help you understand all the gibberish and then after you translate it, I take you out for a good night of drinking? Just us. No Ryan, no Seth, no Marissa. Us." Taylor smiled at her friend gratefully.

"That sounds brilliant. But tomorrow is my mother's wedding rehearsal."

"That's not till noon girlfriend. And I'LL be your supervisor. Now let's see. Moratorium is like a delay or a suspension of a law or an activity. It's like when Lex and Lana were talking about Clark, and Lana then said '_How about a moratorium on the Clark topic?_'." Taylor stared at her. "What?"

"Been watching a lot of Smallville lately?" Summer shrugged uncomfortably.

"I'm not trying to take an interest in Seth's interests. It's just this Chloe chick is pretty kick ass and gave me a couple of good ideas for GEORGE." Taylor smiled knowingly. "Oh shut up. I thought you needed this finished by today."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Taylor woke up with a headache. And an arm draped around her. A male arm. She sat up, the crimson sheets falling off her and took in her surroundings. She definitely wasn't in her room but it was someone's bedroom. A guy's bedroom from the looks of it. There was a punching bag in the corner, the room was in masculine colours, everything looked...manly. Her blue dress was right at her feet, she grabbed it and pulled it over her head, something hit her head though. Something on her hand. Something shiny. And gold. And round. A gold wedding band. Taylor stood up fast. Too fast. She had to sit back down and get up slower this time. She slowly turned to look at the guy who was sleeping next to her. The arm also had a wedding band on it. Finally, she saw who it was. And then she screamed. Loudly. And then she stopped. And then she screamed again. He groaned and she snapped her hands over her mouth to muffle the scream. He looked up at her.

"Taylor?" He looked confused. Then he noticed the wedding band on her finger. Then he noticed the wedding band on his finger. "What the f-?"

"! NO! PLEASE GOD PLEASE NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Taylor wouldn't stop screaming. "I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS ONCE BEFORE! I WILL NOT GO THROUGH IT AGAIN!"

"Taylor, calm down. My head hurts."

"NO! RYAN! YOU HELPED ME GET OUT OF MY PREVIOUS MARRIAGE! Why are you always involved in MY marriages?"

"Involved?" He yelled whilst putting on his trousers. "You ASKED me to help you with that french idiot!"

"HE WAS NOT AN IDIOT! He loved me when he married me! You love another woman!" She went into the living room. "How do I get out of here?"

"Uh Taylor." Ryan said unsure.

"What?" She turned at him snarling. He held up a piece of paper. It said '_Marriage Certificate_' on it. "Oh." She stared at it and him for a while then looked at the clock above his TV. It said 11:30. Her eyes went wide. "SHIT! I'm going to be late!" She put on her heels she found by the door.

"Taylor. We should talk about this." She looked at him.

"We will. But not now. I'm going to be late. How about tomorrow? After the wedding" He looked like he was thinking about it before he nodded. "Okay, I'll see you later." She arrived at the chapel late. After all, Taylor ran to it in high heels and the dress she had on when she went out with Summer wasn't really comfortable either. Especially since she didn't have any underwear on. Her mother was waiting in front of the chapel annoyed. "I know, I know. I'm late. I'm sorry."

"Well it's better to be late than never." Veronica handed her daughter a small bucket and grabbed her arm. "You're walking me down the aisle." She said when Taylor looked alarmed. They went inside. Taylor's newest stepfather wasn't much older than her but he seemed nice enough. He was excited to be a dad. Taylor stood beside her mother in the appointed spot. Veronica and her future husband practiced their vows; the whole thing took about an hour, hour and a half at most. Afterwards Veronica glared at her daughter in a disordered state.

"Go and get prepared for the rehearsal dinner. I expect you to look adequate. And don't be late Taylor. This is my big day. Not yours." '_Oh the irony_' Taylor thought to herself and quickly got out of her mother's car. The moment she stepped into her room she got attacked by Summer.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I've been worried sick! After I lost you last night and you left ME your cell I thought I'd lose my mind!" Taylor sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands. She felt Summer sit next to her and her hand started rubbing her back. "Did something happen? You're wearing the same dress as yesterday so I'm guessing you got at least one thing achieved. But Taylor. What the hell happened?"

"I don't know." Her voice was muffled so she lifted her head. "I remember going to the bar, the first two rounds of shots and then this morning I woke up naked with Ryan's arm around me and a wedding band on my finger. Oh and Summer, if you tell ANYONE-"

"I won't. I promise. But wow Townsend. You got married. Again. To your ex. My best friend's current. Wow." Summer was shocked as well.

"I don't have time to think about that now. The dinner is at 8 and I need a nice long bubble bath." Summer nodded but she was still sitting on Taylor's bed thinking.

"Hey, what if this...marriage isn't such a bad thing?" Taylor looked at the girl like she was an Aquaman fan and got up to find some clothes. "Think about it. Ever since Matt your life has not been exciting at all. You've had no drama-"

"Exactly. It was nice, stable, simple, quiet-"

"It was boring." Summer interrupted her. Taylor stopped moving for a second and sighed. "And this is Ryan Atwood. The guy who you went all gaga over. Oh my God! What if this is one of those crazy romantic stories where the guy and girl end up together happily ever after and renew their vows and-"

"Summer!" Taylor stopped her before she went too far. "I need to take a bath. And you need to stop being delusional and living in a fantasy world. That's my job. Now go." She pointed to the door but Summer didn't move. "Summer, go."

"Sorry Townsend. I'm not a dog." Taylor put her hands on her hips.

"Summer Roberts. You tell me why you don't want to leave my room right now or so help me God, I will take Pancakes to another family." Summer looked outraged by this but she exhaled loudly before dropping on Taylor's bed and mumbling something. "Sorry, I didn't hear that. Wanna repeat?"

"ImhidinoutfromMarissa." She said louder in one go.

"You're harria from Marissa? What's harria?" Taylor frowned.

"I'm hiding out from Marissa." Summer enunciated each word. "It's just that I'm a bit sick of her. You know when you spent every single freaking second of your life with one person who knows how to push your buttons and she does it just for fun? That's what it's like. And she won't come in your room to look for me. She hates you."

"Thank you Summer." Summer sat up frantically with her eyes wide.

"No sweetie, but I don't. I love you, you know that. And Marissa doesn't hate you. She just hates that you and Ryan were together once. You know, he actually did love you and it's like a rite of passage to dislike a boyfriend's ex."

"Hmm, that explains why I don't like her. At least we're polite to each other." Taylor opened her bathroom door. "Fine, you can hide out here. But sooner or later you're gonna have to face her Summer." Summer scrunched up her face in distaste.

"I rather do it later." She flipped back on the bed. Taylor rolled her eyes but closed and locked the door. The bath felt AMAZING. It send pleasant spasms all over her body. The smell of lavender soap made her relax and forget about this whole trip. She looked at her left hand, the wedding band was pretty, simple. She took it off for closer examination. On the inside, it was encrypted '_semper_'. Taylor was stumped. She had no idea what language that was and what it meant. She wandered where her and Ryan even got the wedding rings from. Did they rob a jewellery store? After half an hour she heard banging on the door. "Townsend! Get out before you dissolve in the water." Summer yelled. Taylor sighed but came out after 5 minutes.

"What?" Summer grinned whilst holding a hair dryer in her hand.

"I'm gonna do your hair and make up. And then you'll do mine." Taylor raised her eyebrow.

"Summer that sounds...AMAZING." She hasn't had a girlfriend who'd do things like that for her in years so when the chance came around, she had to jump at it.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Veronica rented a huge ball room for the rehearsal dinner which consisted of 80 people. '_How am I related to this woman?_' Taylor thought as she looked at the tables placed in the middle of the huge room. At least people wouldn't be crowded. The food was nice. She spotted Seth and Summer as far away as possible from her mother's table. A band started to play. Some people stood up to dance. She noticed that some people from their table stood up and she practically ran there. She sat down opposite Seth next to a guy in his late 50s who was staring at her mother frowning.

"You okay hun?" Summer asked her worried.

"What is the point of a rehearsal dinner? And this room is huge. And just...crazy. She's crazy." Taylor took a sip of wine. "How are you guys? Having fun?"

"Oh yeah. I'm raving in my seat because I am too mainstream to rave on the dance floor." Seth remarked. Summer hit him on the shoulder and he winced as usual. Taylor was sure he had a permanent bruise there from all the times Summer hit him.

"Shut up Cohen. Townsend. When can we leave?"

"You two get to leave at any time. I have to stay here forever."She groaned and plomped her head down on the table. "I'm in hell."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **You look beautiful. Do not pay attention to who owns this. Just relish in the beauty that is you. You're worth it.

**A/N: **A thank you to my FF sister who is my Beta, Makky. I can't write chemistry for shit and if you guys think any of this is romantic then it is ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL her. She's fucking amazing, right? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Again, if you don't like the story please stop reading and bumming me out.

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The wedding preparations were hectic since it was just her and her mother. Summer would have helped but she felt like she had neglected Marissa too much. The wedding however went smoothly. The guest list for it and the reception was much larger than the previous day.

"Wanna dance?" Seth asked Taylor while Summer was stuffing her face with strawberry shortcake.

"Sure." They swayed on the dance floor.

"So." He said.

"So." She repeated.

Well, this wasn't awkward at all.

"You're wearing a wedding ring." Taylor looked at him. "I may lack knowledge of what happens in the world beside my small troubles but sometimes I do actually pay attention. Plus Ryan told me."

"Of course he did."

"Well, what did you want the poor guy to do? You won't talk to him and this is definitely something that he needs to talk about! Luckily I was there to listen to him."

"Seth, I was busy, not avoiding him. Plus I will not discuss this with you. I will not discuss this with anyone." Seth smirked at her, raising his eyebrow, about to speak. "Okay maybe I told Summer. But I only told. Not discussed it."

"Taylor. You should probably talk to Ryan about that. And here's your chance."

"Wait, what?" Seth spun her around and she hit someone's chest. "Sorry-"She looked up into blue eyes. "Ryan." He smiled nervously.

"Hey, it's okay. I know how Seth gets. But since we're already dancing wanna keep going?"

"Not really."

"Taylor. We need to talk." She sighed, he had his arms around her waist and he smelled soooo good. Too good. "What do you think we should do?" Nobody seemed to pay attention to them but she could feel a pair of eyes on her.

"I think we should get this thing annulled. And if we can't do that… divorced." Taylor sighed. "Great. Another failed marriage I can add up to my counter." She rolled her eyes and as Ryan and her turned on the dance floor, she finally realised who was staring at the two of them. "You should let me go. Marissa is watching. She probably knows something is going on." Ryan pulled her in closer. Idiot.

"We're not done Taylor. This is a big deal." She looked at his face again. His eyes so blue and his lips so inviting. The small stubble oh his face gave her ideas about him and her on a motorcycle: followed by a motel, perhaps? She tilted her head, moving closer to his face. Her lips lightly grazed his.

"It's only a big deal if we want it to be." She whispered, staring into his eyes. He seemed captivated by her too. "But I don't." She pulled back. "I'll call a lawyer tomorrow." She turned on her heel and walked away. Just like that. He watched her walk away silently; stunned. Before he could help it, his eyes wandered down her back and to her ass. She had a great ass.

Summer hit Taylor's shoulder when she got back to the table. "Ow." She said which caused her friend to hit her again. "Seriously Summer?" She got hit once more. "Okay stop it! Why you are hitting me?"

"Because you're supposed to cancel this whole crazy drunken thing instead of leading Ryan on. Besides, he's with Marissa even though technically he should be with you because you two got drunk and MARRIED." Summer hissed the last part. "Do you even remember HOW this thing happened?" Taylor sipped a glass of wine. "Oh my God, you do! Outside. Now!" Summer walked out in a huff, Taylor downed the wine before following. When she stepped outside Summer gave her a death glare. "Talk. Now!"

"Well, the details are still a little fuzzy but after leaving you to go dance I got bored. This guy offered to buy me drinks- I accepted. But he was boring… and I think he kind of smelt like pee so I ditched him. I went to another club, the one across the street and I ran into a group of girls from school. We had a few drinks too. And then there's just a gaping black hole in my mind. I think I passed out, because when I woke up I was in a booth at the diner and Ryan was there. Seth was with us too as well but he left when he saw me waking up. Then Ryan tried to explain to me how we got there but he was pretty drunk too so his words came out all slurry and I couldn't really understand him. So then I slurred back. And we just kept slurring at each other. And then we ended up at a chapel- and well, you know what happened at the chapel. That was followed by a night of crazy hot sex. That was hot. Then I woke up in the morning and well... here we are." Taylor finished the story with a smile. Summer blinked a couple of times before responding.

"Wow. Just wow. Wow." She blinked and sighed. Then she turned back to Taylor. "Townsend. You need to annul this as soon as possible. Otherwise, something bad will happen. Don't ever drink again. You always make bad decisions when you're drunk. First the french idiot and now Atwood."

"Hey! When I married Henri-Michele I was NOT drunk. Much." Summer shook her head.

"If Marissa finds out about this-"

"She won't. She can't." Taylor interrupted her, glaring at her. "You need to stop worrying about this and enjoy. The food is ACTUALLY really good."

"Fine. I'll go back in. But seriously Taylor. Don't wait on this. It's only gonna drag out." Taylor nodded. Summer squeezed her friend's hand and went back inside. Taylor took her phone out and looked through her contacts for her lawyer. But before she could make the call her mother and her new stepfather burst out giggling.

"Oh. Taylor honey!" Her mother hugged her tightly. Taylor hugged her mother back and she felt the baby kick. "Oh. Bad baby. Taylor thank you so much for coming. I'm happy you did. I really wanted you to meet Joey."

"Well mom, it was a nice wedding." Taylor smiled at Veronica who put her arms around her husband and beamed at her daughter.

"We're gonna go now because the train is gonna leave in twenty minutes. Bye sweetie."

"Bye mom. Have a great time on your honeymoon." They left. Taylor stared after her mother. She seemed really happy. And not in the '_I just got the account of my life because I am a hardcore bitch who will cut your balls off_' happy but in the '_I just ate a whole bucket of my favourite ice cream but that's okay because I have more in the freezer_' happy. Taylor went back inside and saw a whole bottle of wine just sitting on the bar. A whole bottle. She looked around to see if anyone was looking and she grabbed it. Taylor noticed on the other side of the room Marissa and Ryan were talking intensely. '_I know that body language._' She thought to herself and left with the bottle of wine to the beach. The sun was settling down. Surfers were getting out of the water and kids were driving away. '_How come the beach is always so close?_' She sat down on a bench and uncorked the wine. The minute it hut the back of her throat everything dimmed lightly.

"This is some good wine." She looked at the bottle. Police officers were coming her way so she quickly corked it back up. "Hello officers." She smiled brightly. "How are you this evening?"

"Miss Townsend, you're not allowed to drink here. It's against the law." One policeman said to her. She recognized him from the countless times he busted a party she was at.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again. See, it's corked up so I won't." The officers just kept on staring at her. She sighed and passed them the bottle. "Fine. Here, have fun." The woman looked offended but the man nodded.

"Nice to see you back in town Miss Townsend." He smiled and went off. The woman still looked offended but the man nudged her and they left. Taylor looked on and wandered why the woman was so uptight. Maybe she just didn't like wine. Someone sat next to her.

"Great way to get rid of the police." He said. Taylor looked at him. The sunset made his eyes sparkle. And his hair turned golden. "Bribery always works for the best."

"I didn't bribe them. They just seized it." The corners of his mouth turned upwards lightly and she turned to gaze at the sea. "Annulment seems like the best option Ryan."

"I know, I know. You're right." He took a deep breath. "I told Marissa." She turned her head sharply towards him.

"About what? That you got married? That you got married when you were drunk? That you got married to me? That you got married to me when you were drunk? That you got married over 24 hours ago and you only told her NOW?"

"All of the above." She turned back to the sea.

"Idiot. You don't tell the love of your life a thing like that. Especially at your ex-girlfriend slash current wife's mother's wedding reception. Especially since we're going to get this annulled. Oh God. What if my mother finds out? What if Julie Cooper finds out? I'm doomed." Ryan's body shook with silent laughter.

"Taylor, you're not doomed. You don't even live in this town. You're leaving tomorrow. I'm more doomed than you. And I don't care what people say about me to be honest." She glanced at him. "But I probably shouldn't talk to you about this."

"Ryan it's fine if I hear about your life sometimes. I can deal with my emotions. I'm not that little girl who has too many insecurities to count anymore. "

"No. You just let your insecurities consume you and you throw yourself into work. Like your mother." She stared at him for a few seconds.

"That's not fair Ryan. You know my biggest fear in life is to turn out like Veronica Townsend." He didn't reply. "What are you even doing here Ryan? In Newport. You have so much potential to do anything. Yet you're in here. Working as a...what do you even do?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm a manager at the Boat Club." She stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"Ryan Atwood working at Newport's Boat Club? Now that is funny."

"I needed a job and it's not that bad. It's...comfortable." Taylor laughed again.

"What is wrong with you? The guy I knew wanted to go into construction, architecture. Not to be a manager at a club for the rich parents of the rich kids." Ryan shook his head.

"Well, Newport is not really...I don't..." He choked.

"You don't feel that it has the job you want. I understand. Once you're labelled in here it's hard to get rid of it." He stared at her for a while. He forgot she could do that, say what he's thinking before he could feel it. "I miss this. I miss just being friends with you."

"Well to be honest, we were never really friends for that long." He grinned. "When we were you quickly became obsessed with me and started stalking me. The friendship period was kinda short." She smiled at him, her eyes shining with amusement.

"That's because I'm amazing. And the attraction was just undeniable." She looked down. "It still is." She mumbled.

"Really? Because your behaviour says something entirely different." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Excuse me? I'm just trying to not get hurt over here again but trust me, the chemistry is still there."

"Oh really?" She nodded. "Prove it." That made her speechless for a few seconds before she sat on his lap and placed her hands on the back of his neck. He was surprised at first. "That's it? You sit on me?" She smiled softly and moved close to his mouth. She kissed his jaw line softly and her right hand slowly moved to his torso. She unbuttoned the shirt and moved her hand underneath it only to feel another piece of fabric. His wife beater shirt. She scratched softly at his chest whilst she moved closer to his ear.

"You know what I often fantasised about?" She whispered in between kissing his neck. He put his hands on her hips but it was a bit hard because her dress was so puffy. "That when I see you again for the first time, it would be in a motel room. And the bed often made that creaky noise when we moved. And we'd move a lot. You'd fuck my brains out in that room, Ryan." She looked into his eyes and kissed him lightly. Her lips were softer than he remembered. She broke away and smiled down at him. "See. Still there." He stared at her for a few seconds before pulling her head down again. She closed her eyes and melted into the kiss. His tongue parted her mouth and she broke away again. He looked confused.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes." She said. "A lot of things. But having a make out session on a beach with a bunch of horny teenagers staring at us is probably not the greatest idea." He looked to his right and saw a group of teenagers staring, laughing and pointing.

"My place?" He asked. She nodded. Because this wouldn't turn out badly at all.

"My place?" He asked. She nodded. Because this wouldn't turn out badly at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own...nope, not gonna say it. Too hard. TOO HARD.

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE CONTINUING: **This chapter contains adult graphic sexual acts. It's dirty. REALLY dirty If you're below the age of consent like me then you probably SHOULDN'T read it and skip this chapter. You obviously won't know what is going on but who cares. It's your fault for being underage. And if you do, it is NOT my fault. I have warned you. And I am only an innocent 17 year old virgin who wrote this sex scene. I've never done it before. I really want some chocolate ice cream. SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED AND I EXPECT YOU TO ACT RESPONSIBLY...unlike me. TT_TT God I'm such a bad influence. And again if you do not like this story, don't FUCKING READ IT. Also another thank you to Makky. She's my saviour. Also to Emily; Sandy, Kirsten and Sophie do exist but they live in Berkeley, I didn't want to include them into this drama because I think they deserve a happy universe.

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She pushed him on the bed, climbing on top of him while ripping his shirt open. He pulled her dress over her head and threw fed it to the floor; her body glistening in the moonlight. She pressed her body down on him and leaned in to kiss him. He reached for her rear and started to rub her up and down his body. She started leaving light kisses down his chest, slowly moving towards his pants. She undid his belt with her teeth, looking up to flash him a grin at her accomplishment. How she did it, he had no idea but watching her do it just made him harder. She stared at him, aroused and started to stroke him. He groaned in pleasure, her small hand around him felt great but it was her mouth that made him a couple inches bigger. She hummed softly, driving him insane.

"Fuck." He gripped her hair tightly as she opened up the back of her throat to take all of him in. "Damn Taylor." He was breathless; she moved out.

"Th-thanks." He managed to say. She smiled and went back to stroking him. "I've worked on my gag reflex." She went back to deep-throating him but stopped again after a few minutes. He looked at her, disappointed that she'd stopped, but before he could open his mouth she grabbed his wallet off the nightstand. It was a common notion that men carried a condom in their wallets. She ripped the packet open and rolled the condom on to him. She hastened back on top of him, before slowly sinking down on him. He groaned with pleasure, surprised to find that after all this time, every inch of her body was still the same. She slowly rose back up and sank back down, his hands making a grap for her hips, her breasts shaking slightly. The pace picked up. She leaned forwards. Their eyes locked and he grabbed her head to crush their lips together. He moaned into the kiss, one of his hands moving down to her back whilst the other cupped her breast. He gradually moved this hand down to her slit, rubbing her. Suddenly he felt her clamp around him, her inner walls practically locking him in. She sat back up, throwing her head back as her orgasm coursed through her body. Her body convulsed and her mouth was wide open signalling her scream of release but the only thing that came out was a small whimper. He basked in her afterglow as she pulled out of him, curling up against his chest and breathing heavily.

"You o-okay?" He asked, his voice shaking, one of his hands stroking her back as he pulled her even closer to his body. She nodded.

"Y-yeah." she replied, equally shaky. "I just need a minute."

"You want to keep going?" He sounded surprised. She looked at him, taking a deep breath before she kissed him with plausible strength. When they broke apart for air, a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"I'm not done with you yet." She said, pushing herself back up. He grinned right back and rolled her over onto her back taking the upper hand and surprising her.

"You've got nothing on me Townsend." He started pounding into her with their hands locking together and their mouth crashing against each other.

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Ryan fell asleep at 4:30 am. His sheets barely covered her. Taylor bit her lip, lying there with his left arm placed lazily around her waist. '_Well this is not the stupidest thing I've ever done._ _Actually it really isn't. I got married twice. Both were not under great circumstances. And now I'm fucking my husband._' She got up with her legs aching, and searched for her underwear. Her bra was on the floor and she put it on but when she grabbed her panties, she couldn't believe her eyes. Those panties turned into ripped up pieces of fabric that even children who were forced to do child labour in third world countries couldn't fix up. She sighed and threw them in the trash can. Her dress was in the living room. She closed the bedroom door quietly to not wake Ryan up. The dress took ages to put on and it was rustling loudly so Taylor was constantly afraid that her husband would wake up. She couldn't believe she was sneaking out on him: but it just seemed like the right thing to do at this stage. She couldn't face him. She struggled to put her shoes on as she clutched her phone between her head and neck, whispering down the phone as she ordered herself a cab. She waited outside for it. The cab driver looked amused at her dress but she shrugged it off. When he drove up to the Roberts mansion she remembered she had no money.

"Could you wait here for a second? I'll just go back into the house and grab my purse. I didn't realise I didn't have it on me!" Oh Taylor. Rambling again? The cab driver didn't care. He didn't look happy about it and told her he'd keep the meter running. She found Summer's purse in the kitchen and grabbed money out of it. She'd pay her back. Once she paid the driver off, she went to take a shower. Her legs still ached, not to mention the area she used the most that night and that morning. Yet she wasn't tired at all. She got out of her shower and saw on her cell there were 3 missed calls. One from Summer, one from Seth and one from her boss. She listened to the one from her boss.

"_Taylor, I'm really sorry to ask you this but I need you to come to the office as soon as possible. It is an emergency and our whole company depends on it._" She looked at her cell and frowned. What could be so important? She quickly packed up and called a cab. Hopefully it wouldn't be the same one that dropped her off. Taylor wrote a note for Summer saying she had to leave because of a work emergency and the cash she'd stolen of her. Then she went into Summer's room and left the note on the nightstand. Unfortunately it was the same cabbie. He grumbled that she kept on wasting his time and didn't pay enough. She paid him nonetheless. When she tried to buy a last ticket to LA there was a small problem. She had to explain to the woman that she was on probation, not a terrorist and not crazy even though her hair was still slightly damp. The flight was annoying, expensive but short. She dropped her things off at her apartment and then drove to the office. She walked into her boss' office and her heart jumped into her throat. Instead of her boss at the desk stood Matt.

"Oh my God. What? What? What? I don't-What? How—What? Where is Andy?" She questioned. Matt smiled that crooked smile that always made her melt.

"Andy is no longer in service. Nah, I'm kidding." He said quickly in his British accent when he saw her terrified face. "He's on vacation. He can do that. Because I bought this company. I'm your new boss. And Andy's. But Andy is just the manager. I'm actually doing things."

"That is such intelligent use of language Matt. But no. I need more of an explanation here. I mean what, am I fired? What was Andy's emergency? Why does the company depend on something?" He raised his eyebrow at her. He did that. He could always raise his eyebrow.

"Ty. Will you calm the fuck down and sit?"

"Do I look like a dog, Matt? And don't call me Ty." Her cell was vibrating in her pocket. She looked at the caller ID. It was Ryan, she pressed ignore, she'd deal with that later. Matt stared at her with his eyebrow still raised so she did sit down. He beamed.

"So, let me answer your questions one at a time. You are the best translator in this office as far as I can tell from the notes Andy wrote which have your name in a heart so you're not fired. Andy's emergency was that he needed you to announce my addition to the company. And the company depends on you to make me look good because if I don't look good, this company is gonna run into the ground. I mean Andy's ship is pretty much sinking in debt-"

"That's a lie." She interrupted him. "If we were in trouble everyone would know. Andy wouldn't just bankrupt us then ditch us."

"Do you know how much those flights to other countries cost? The clients are not the one paying for them. This company is. The monthly budget is quite large but you guys are exceeding it big time." Taylor stared at him for a while.

"Alright. Suppose all of that is true. And I believe you. Can you explain one tiny detail of this epic-tale to me?" He smiled at her.

"What do you want to know?" She stood up and smiled sweetly at him.

"Why the hell are you in LA buying out the company I work at?" She hissed at him with crazy eyes. Matt shivered but he didn't let her stare her down.

"I got married. And Andy was my mate from the country club. The one I trashed of course. 'Cause even though I have money I'm not a pretentious douche bag."

"Saying you have money makes you a pretentious douche bag Matt."

"Ty do you even know what pretentious means?" She glared at him. "It means that I'm conceited Ty-"

"I know what it means Matt!" She sighed. "Ugh. I'm gonna go and do some work now. I'll introduce you at 8. _Boss_." She hissed the last word under her breath and Matt smiled at her. Taylor rolled her eyes at how goofy he looked, turning on her heel and walking out of the office.

"Thank you!" She heard his voice through the door.

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It's been two months. She got home around midnight. Her answering machine had 3 messages. One from Summer which by now was usual. She didn't ever call back. Just e-mailed or texted when she had the chance. One from her mother asking if she'd come to see her new sister and one was a commercial call. She looked at the couch. Seth was out for the night on it. She sighed and took her laptop to the kitchen counter. She still had a lot of work to do. Andy has been gone for ages and Matt has been working her hard. She had to do a lot of translating into different languages fast. Her daily load included 20 files with 50 pages inside.

And the pile just kept on getting bigger and bigger. Everyone worked hard. But she was second in command. She had more work than they did. And even though they were getting out of the black hole Andy plunged them into, it still wasn't fast enough. Time really was money. She left the house at 5 am and came back at midnight at the earliest. She was killing herself. Not to mention Matt being an annoying and irritating little boy who liked to bring his husband into work. Yes, Matt was gay. Which was a bit of a shocker at first but then she met Justin. He was drop dead gorgeous. Who wouldn't turn gay for him?

But Matt was still annoying; he wanted the company's issues to be solved fast and as cheaply as possible. And he wanted Taylor to be his friend again. Which was a lot of her to ask of especially since their break up did quite a number on her. And then Seth showed up at her doorstep a week ago. Summer was away somewhere doing something for GEORGE and he wanted to get out of Newport for a while. He thought a change of scenery would be good for his new comic which was becoming more popular than Atomic County.

Taylor rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. It was already two. She set the clock in the kitchen to 5 just in case she'd fall asleep. Seth stirred sometimes but didn't wake up. She looked in her briefcase at 3 am. No more files until she went back to work. She took a nice hot shower. It undid some of the knots in her back but her skull ached from everything she just did. At 3.15 she dropped on her soft, comfy bed and drifted off into the land filled with certain blond, blue-eyed husbands she hasn't spoken to in two months. Seth mentioned something about Marissa and him trying to get back together but Taylor was too tired to understand what he was saying. At 5 am her alarm rang and she sat up to turn it off. Then she had to walk to turn off the one in the kitchen. And thus her day repeated herself. Oh, what a joy. She looked jealous at Seth who snored lightly.

"One of these days, someone's going to punch you in the face and I'll be there to record it." She whispered viciously as she poured herself a cup of coffee.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do own my heart. And I own this horrible writing. ;)

**A/N:** Don't like it? Don't read it. Don't like how this story is turning out? Don't read it. Don't like how rude I am? Have some chocolate and get over it. **(LIES! I AM SO SORRY)**

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Taylor Townsend finally got a break. And she came to Newport to celebrate. Not really, she only came because she was excited to see her little sister finally. She held the baby in her hands. Her name was Michelle Joanna Townsend-Wright and she was five months old. Her small hairs were a mixture of jet black and dark blond. She laughed whenever Taylor looked at her. Veronica clearly wanted be a good parent this time and she signed a contract with her clients that she'd be available only for 2 hours per day.

"Mom. She's amazing. I love her so much." Veronica smiled at her daughters.

"I know. I just can't get over how adorable she is. You see, when you were born, your head was abnormally huge and it took you years to grow into it. But Michelle came out perfect. Even though the labour was awful and I'm coming closer to a grandmother's age instead of a mother's." Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Mom, come on. You're in your late 40s. You still have time to be a mother."

"Maybe, but menopause is coming soon. I wonder how Joey will even put up with me. I wonder how he puts up with me now. He's not that much older than you, you know." Taylor chose to ignore her mother and played with Michelle's small hand around her finger. The doorbell rang. Veronica rolled her eyes but went to get it, when she came back someone was with her but Taylor didn't pay any attention to them because Michelle just occupied her. "Taylor, your friends are here to see you." Taylor thought for a second. To her knowledge, out of her friends in Newport, Seth was the only one in town and he was currently working. She looked up smiling and saw Marissa and Ryan standing there awkwardly.

"Hey Taylor. We need to talk." Marissa said with a fake smile of pleasantness on her face.

"Oh, why don't you all go out onto the patio? Michelle loves it there." Veronica smiled and pointed Ryan and Marissa into the right direction. Taylor looked at her mother confused but indeed took her little sister with her out on the patio and sat down on one of the couches. She readjusted Michelle in her arms. Ryan was clearly avoiding her eyes and stared everywhere but at her and Michelle. Taylor understood though, the last time she saw him was when they had mind blowing sex and then she ditched him for seven months. Marissa however was an entirely different story; she would not take her glare off the Townsend girls.

"So umm...you guys need anything? Tea? Coffee? A hot ice cream cone?" Taylor laughed nervously. Marissa dropped some papers on the table in front of Taylor.

"You need to sign this." Taylor opened the papers with one hand.

"Divorce papers." She said shocked. Marissa nodded whilst Ryan stood there awkwardly still not looking at her.

"Ryan and I are getting married in a few months." Taylor could not be more shocked. Yes, the news that these two got back together travelled to her but she never heard anything about an engagement. She wandered why she felt so hurt. "We didn't tell anyone yet because we wanted to sort out this mess between you and Ryan first. So sign it over and-What is that smell?" Marissa looked disgusted. Taylor stood up.

"That's the smell of a dirty baby diaper. You know Marissa, babies do poop." She went into another room to change her sister.

"Wait! What about the papers?" Marissa yelled after her.

"I'll sign them later!" Taylor called back.

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Taylor signed them that very night. She figured it would be easier to just get it over and done with. The next day she went to take the papers to Ryan at The Boat Club. She knocked on the manager's office.

"Come in." She heard his voice through the door. She opened it and saw he was sitting bend over some building's blueprints.

"Hey." He looked up. "Brought the papers. Sorry I didn't do it yesterday." She put them in front of him.

"You actually signed them?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. I figured it would be easier on you and Marissa if I'd do it quickly. I'm going back to LA tomorrow so you two can forget this whole idiotic thing will ever happen." Taylor smiled and tried to back out of the room.

"What do you expect me to do?" His voice stopped her, when she turned to look at him he was standing up and staring intently at her. He walked towards her, grabbed her hand. His touch no longer feeling like a gift, it felt like a curse, like a burn. "I woke up and you were gone. I went to Summer's who told me you had to go back to LA for some work emergency. Seth says that you have Matt back in your life whilst I don't hear from you for seven months. Did you expect me to wait for you? What do you want from me Taylor?" She thought for a few minutes before closing the door and pulled her hand from his.

"Sit." Taylor's voice was ice cold. Ryan considered it for a moment before following through. "First let me just tell and this is none of your business but whatever Seth says _must be always_ true. Matt is not interested in me nor will he ever be. He is happily married to a man called Justin." Ryan opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand showing she wasn't done talking. "Second, there was an emergency. There still **is** an emergency. Our company is going bankrupt and for the past seven months I've been working my ass off to make sure we somehow managed to pay our debts along with the 20 other people in our company which INCLUDE Matt who is my new boss. He was gracious enough to give me 4 days off to come out here and finally see my little sister even though it is costing him thousands of dollars each hour. And third, and listen good Ryan Atwood because this point actually does take in your existence, the sex was mind blowing, I loved every single minute of it. But that was not how I wanted that week to turn out like. The guilt that consumed me was tremendous. Not only did you and Marissa break up HOURS before but I wasn't being clear headed either because of my mother's wedding and...it all became too much. I had to get out before you woke up because if you did and we talked then...I would've had to face reality. That I was, am and always will be deeply in love with you. And I don't want to be your fuck toy." She took a deep breath in before continuing. "Nobody asked you to wait for me and I can clearly see you haven't so whatever has happened with us in the past stays in the past. But I would like you to know one thing. When you chose Marissa over me the first time, I got crushed. I didn't know how I'd move on. How I could ever face you again or even be friends with you. Yet I did. And now you chose her over me the second time hurting me again but this time I do not want to be friends with you. I do not want to fuck you. I do not want to face you ever again. I want you out of my life. You and Marissa are self-destructive when you're together and you bring others in to destroy them too. And I am **not** going to allow myself to be hurt by you again. Do you understand?" She didn't blink once during this monologue. Ryan nodded. "Good. Have a nice life." With that she went out and slammed the door. Ryan let out a deep breath and stared at the picture of him and Marissa on his desk.

'_What the hell did I get myself into?_' He thought and he moved his gaze to the closed door.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Seth threw himself down on Taylor's bed whilst she was packing her things.

"Why is there always so much drama with you?" He asked her annoyed. "You scream, you yell, why can't you just be happy for once?" Taylor glared at him. "Seriously. With you it's always guy drama. Can't you like, become a lesbian or something?" She hit him on the head.

"You think being a lesbian is easier than being straight? Because it's not. It's much, much harder. First of all you have the fact that your family can reject you because of your true sexuality and then there is the searching for the perfect soul mate. Of course then comes the idea that perhaps that soul mate is not as open about her sexuality as you are. Being a lesbian or gay is a lot more drama and a lot more heartbreak. You shouldn't stereotype, Seth. And I am going to avoid all that drama. I'm gonna throw myself into work." She smiled and zipped her suitcase.

"Yeah, because that's a healthy approach to life." Taylor looked at Seth who was staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. She sat next to him and sighed.

"My biggest fear in life is to turn into my mother. She stopped caring. I want to stop caring. Every day I'm becoming more and more like her. Because I don't have the strength to deal with my crazy. And Ryan, he has enough crazy of his own. Him and Marissa are compatible in that way. I just want to...I don't even know what I want. But I know that I don't want to end up here. This place it...it corrupts you. I want out. And as long as Ryan is here I can't be a part of his life."

"I'm here." Seth said still staring at the ceiling. "And you're a part of my life."

"With you it's different though. I've never been in love with you. I love you and you love me back in the family way. And besides, you were never really here. For as long as I have known you, your head has been somewhere else. In other universes. That's why I liked you. Because you weren't like the fake people in this town. You can always leave." Seth still didn't look at her. "Okay, I get the hint. This isn't about me. It's about Summer." He took a deep breath.

"I proposed." Taylor cringed.

"Oh Seth, not again." He nodded.

"Yup. And she said no. Again." Taylor patted his shoulder awkwardly.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me too. So you're going back to LA and abandoning me in the time of need. Don't worry. My grudge will only start when you leave. Are you guys still in trouble?" Taylor nodded. It was unsual for Seth to talk about something other than himself so she went along with it.

"Even though we've paid our debts we still need at least 20 more rich clients who need our services on regular basis to keep from shutting down." Seth nodded.

"I hope things will turn out well for you Taylor." She smiled.

"Thank you Seth. But since this is my last night here you should stop being so depressing and watch Mirai Nikki with me."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Taylor, Justin and Matt were in the conference room working still on some papers. She stopped and drank some beer.

"I hate this." She said to the two. They looked at her and also took a break.

"I know. But we're not drowning anymore. That's good." Matt said and grabbed Justin's hand.

"Yes, hopefully soon we'll have sex in our own bed instead of your office." Justin said with a small smile.

"Please. I really need to know where my boss/ex boyfriend is having sex." The guys laughed at her.

"Ty. You're always funny in your own way." Justin grinned at her. Matt looked outraged.

"How come he can call you Ty?"

"Because Justin is a sweetie. You are one evil son of a bitch." She put the empty beer bottle in the recycling bin. "Always were. Even in college."

"And you in college were a scared little girl who dreamed of being a psychologist. Where's that girl now? Working as a translator." Matt said disappointed.

"Hey, I like my job. Being a translator is useful. And I did get my psychology degree. I started out in school but then I had to finish it off online, yet I still got it." She sat back down. "So I can become a psychologist any time I want to."

"Then why don't you?" Justin asked curious. She looked taken aback.

"Because. I have...responsibilities." Matt raised an eyebrow. "Like this job." Matt laughed.

"Ty. I expected you to quit a looooooong time ago. And I won't hold it against you if you will. Because let's face it. You've got potential to do something great." Taylor took a deep breath.

"Even if I quit, we're still not completely out of the black hole. And I have no back-up job to do. And don't call me Ty, Matt." He frowned.

"My buddy in San Francisco says they need more people in Social Services. I can give him a call if you want." Taylor looked surprised.

"Go and do it now Matty. It's better before she says no." Matt gave his husband a quick kiss and left the room. Taylor glared at Justin. "What? You got something to say?"

"Justin, I don't want to move to San Francisco."

"Hold your horses girlfriend. Who said you'd even get the job? Besides, San Francisco is beautiful." She wouldn't stop glaring at him. Matt came back inside. "And?"

"He says he needs her CV or resume for formality and she can start there in three weeks."

"Wait. What? Stop lying to me Matt. It could not be THAT easy to get a job. Especially in Social Services. You have to go through proper channels." Matt threw popcorn at her. "Where did you get popcorn from?"

"I always have a bag in my desk. Right now would be the perfect moment to give me your two weeks notice Ty."

"Don't call me Ty!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Do I really have to do this every single time?

**A/N: **Thank you to the sweet Anon for a lovely review. I'm really worried what you guys will say when this fic finishes which as I've said before is going to be in the next chapter. You guys will hate it. I can feel it.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

San Francisco was beautiful. She loved it. The Golden Gate Bridge at night took her breath away. She got a small apartment by the park. The job was actually pretty intense but she finally did what she always wanted. Helped others. Matt's friend, Travis, was her new boss and he was amazing. Hilarious, gorgeous and had the power of persuasion. But the reason why he gave her a job after Matt gave him a call, was because him and Matt had a 'friends with benefits' relationship once upon a time. Which put him out of Taylor's league.

"Why do all the good ones have to be gay?" She said to Summer on the phone.

"_Because life screws us all._" Summer sounded gloomy. "_I mean your hot boss is gay and it's totally unfair that these pharmaceutical companies are still testing their products on animals even though it is animal cruelty and they can go to jail for that. GEORGE is working towards shutting them down but the corruption in the law system is like invincible or something. What is wrong with these people?_" Taylor grabbed a cup of warm coffee and sat on a bar stool. The kitchen was also linked with the small living room, but the bar was much taller and the bedroom was separate. There was also two bathrooms, one in her room and one in the guest room. Yes, there was a guest room. Taylor grabbed a file about a girl who claimed her stepmother was abusing her.

"Maybe you guys should sue." She heard Summer sigh on the other side.

"_We would but the lawyers say we still lack evidence. It's all hearsay._"

"That sucks Summer. Well I guess if they don't give you evidence you should go and find it yourself."

"_Like go undercover or sneak in or something?_"

"That's what Lois Lane did when she wanted a good story."

"_Taylor, I'm not Lois Lane. She had Superman. Seth is hardly Superman or Clark Kent._"

"Well I don't know. He has that geeky thing that Clark had. Maybe there is something there." Taylor grinned.

"_...Shut up! Seth doesn't have any secrets. He talks too much to actually keep something from me._"

"Are you completely sure about that?"

"_...Shut up!_"

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Marissa sat down on the stairs in front of his apartment and waited for him. She wandered how long they would keep doing this. Breaking up and then getting back together. She knew that he wasn't into the relationship as much as once upon a time. Even though he proposed and she said yes it wasn't good. She didn't feel the spark from him anymore. He walked up and was surprised to see her there.

"Marissa. What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the diner." She tilted her head as she looked up at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He looked at her puzzled. "About the job offer? Were you going to run away on our wedding day? Leave me in front of the altar?" He took a deep breath before sitting down next to her.

"No. I wouldn't do that. I was going to tell you today. At the diner." She laughed at that. "I can't be with you Marissa. Not after what you did." She stood up, quickly, with a glare in her eyes.

"It was ONE time, Ryan! God! Why can't you just let it go?"

"Because you said you'd stay sober." He said harshly. She went quiet, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. "I love you. I will always love. But I've had enough of this. For God's sake Marissa, you even went to rehab. You have all the tools, you know what you are doing, yet you still...did it. And... do it." His head fell down. "I know about you sneaking off each night with Kaitlin."

"Ryan." She said choking back tears. "I couldn't help it. It's an addiction. I need help. If you leave me now I don't think I'll survive." Her voice cracking.

"And if I don't, I don't think I will." He said quietly. Marissa bit her lip trying to control her heartbreak.

"It's because of Taylor isn't it? You always wanted a perfect happy life and you know she could give it to you. Because according to you, she is flawless." Ryan rolled his eyes.

"This isn't about Taylor. This is about you and me."

"Can't you see Ryan? She doesn't even love you!" Marissa screamed at him. "Yet you are so willing to go to her! You're like her lap dog! I need you! **I** NEED YOU! She is fine! She doesn't want you but **I **do! **I'm** the one who loves you." Ryan stood up.

"Marissa. Calm down." He put his hands on her arms. "This is NOT about Taylor. This is about the fact that you and I will kill each other if we stay together. We're good as friends but as a couple...it's a disaster. I'm emotionally inept and you're a drama queen with an addiction problem. You need help and happiness but it can't be me who gives it to you. You deserve someone who will love you and stay with you. Like Johnny did." Marissa slapped him.

"Don't you dare mention his name after letting him die." Ryan sighed.

"Marissa-"

"You're a sick son of a bitch, Ryan. Here." She took off her engagement ring and threw it on the ground. "I'll be glad when you leave. We'll all be better off." She stormed off. Ryan picked up the ring and looked after her with resignation. Marissa picked it out. Ryan sighed and went into his home to finish off packing. Some things just had to be done.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

"Townsend. Here." Her work friend, Abby, passed her a couple of files.

"What? More?" She sighed but took them. "I'm already swamped, Clerk." Abby grinned.

"Yeah, and the boss wants you to go and see how Mickey's doing at the foster family."

"What? Today?" Abby nodded. "I'm gonna die."

"No, you're not. You never signed the DNR forms." Abby grinned. Taylor glared at the girl. She was younger than her by a few years, had a ginger pixie hair cut and green eyes. Taylor always thought that girls with a description like that, only existed in books or animes, yet here was living proof that Taylor was wrong.

"Okay, here's how this is going to go. I'm going to go to Mickey's, then I'm going to come back here. Do these cases first," She pointed to a small file in front of her. "...because they are most urgent and then I'll take the rest home. Yeah, I should make a table for that. How will I colour coordinate them though?" Abby snickered.

"And you wander why you have so much work." She walked away to her desk in the next cubicle.

"I like to be organised. What's so bad about that?" Taylor shouted after her. Taylor grabbed her purse and went to her car. Mickey was a 14 year old boy who has been thrown around from one foster family to another for all of his life and taught by kids on the street how to be a good thief but she hoped that this one would stick. She pulled up to the big, red, three stories high, family house. There was a family feeling around it but Taylor had to remember that appearances were deceiving. She rang the doorbell and Mrs Jenkins opened with a smile. She had flour all over her.

"Miss Townsend." She said surprised. "What are you doing here?" Taylor smiled at her.

"I'm just here to make sure that everything is alright. Mickey has a history of not really fitting into his foster families." Mrs Jenkins opened the door for Taylor to come in.

"Oh well he's been an absolute angel to be honest. The other kids adore him. And my husband's friend has been keeping him out of trouble. Carl is just in love with Mickey. Actually we're all in love with Mickey. I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I'm just nervous, Mickey is amazing. Please don't take him away." Mrs Jenkins laughed nervously.

"Mrs Jenkins, calm down. I'm not taking Mickey away, I'm just here to check on him and see how he is settling in. And it's alright to be nervous. I get nervous all the time. No worries though, I just need to talk to him." Taylor smiled at the elder woman who visibly relaxed.

"Okay, thank you. I'll call him down." They walked to the stairs. "MICKEY! Get down here! Someone's here to see you!" Mrs Jenkins turned to Taylor. "I'm gonna go and finish off the cake. Would you like anything to drink? Apple tea perhaps?"

"No, thank you." She heard something heavy rolling down the stairs. A punching bag landed at her feet. Mrs Jenkins shook her head with a smile and walked to the kitchen. Mickey ran downstairs.

"TAYLOR!" He yelled happily and fell down on the punching bag. "Ow." He got up rubbing his chin but then jumped and hugged Taylor tightly.

"Hey." She laughed and hugged him back. When they pulled away she over looked him quickly. "Did you get taller?"

"Hell yeah." Mickey stood straight. His blonde hair spiked up. "Look, I'm awesome that way." She laughed again.

"I came down to talk to you about your new family. Got some time?" He grinned at her.

"For you anything beautiful."

"You're 14 Casanova."

"As long as you're single, I will play the game." They went into the dining room. "So you don't call, you don't write. I'm starting to feel used here gorgeous." Taylor rolled her eyes and pulled out her notepad.

"Mickey. Be serious for a minute and answer my questions." Mickey nodded with a smile. "How do you feel here? Is everything okay? Are you fitting in?"

"I don't know. I like it here. I feel like they don't care that I'm a useless piece of crap." He muttered shrugging. Taylor squeezed his hand.

"Mickey, you're not a useless piece of crap. Don't think that. And the Jenkins have been a foster family for many years now so they know how you feel. They already love you from what I can tell. But the most important thing is that you feel comfortable being a part of their family. They accept you but do you accept them?" Mickey looked up at her and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I want to." He mumbled. "It's easy you know, just going around and being a part of...this. I don't think about all the other stuff. They take my mind off it." Taylor smiled softly.

"That's good right?" Mickey nodded and grinned.

"Yeah. Yeah it is." Taylor grinned back and resumed her questionnaire.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

It's been two months. Mickey kept calling and inviting her to dinner over there but she always refused excusing herself with work. Abby shook her head at that. Summer kept telling her that she should eat something instead of noodles for once. Seth...well, Seth talked about how much he missed Summer and how he hated Zach for ruining his comic. Taylor was feeling pressured by everyone so one day she finally gave in.

"_Really? You'll come? AWESOME! Be here on Friday at 8!_" She laughed into the phone.

"Okay, but you might want to stop screaming and tell your parents."

"_LISA! IS IT ALRIGHT IF TAYLOR COMES TO DINNER ON FRIDAY?_" Taylor rolled her eyes at the boy. "_Lisa says it's awesome._" He was so excited. "_Oh and she's also inviting someone else to dinner. I think she's trying to give me competition for my affections towards you. Don't worry beautiful. I will fight to the death to win your heart._"

"Find yourself a girl your own age. Bye Mickey." Abby bounced up to her cubicle excited. "You know you look like a bouncy ball when you do that." Abby nodded with a Zen look on her face.

"You gotta be what you gotta be."

"That made no sense."

"Your face makes no sense. You done with the Anderson file? Travis wants me to send it to the District Attorney's office ASAP. By that I mean he thinks I can fly. But I can't."

"Have you ever tried? Maybe use an umbrella-?"

"Been there, done that." Abby interrupted Taylor. "The hospital said it was lucky I survived. I believe that's when they clipped my wings." Taylor looked confused. "You know, cut them off, so when I grew the wings out, I still wouldn't be able to fly."

"You're strange."

"You're anal." Taylor glared at her but gave her the file she asked for.

"Here. Don't get distracted by pretty lawyers. They can sue you for sexual harassment when you leer like that." Abby grinned.

"I think I can suppress my urges to throw down the hot pieces of meat and have my way with them in the courtrooms. But thanks for looking out for me." The days went by, Friday approaching fast and Taylor started to dread the fact that she said yes to dinner with the Jenkins. She had no idea what to wear. When she walked up the stairs to the house she still thought that maybe the black trousers and an orange tee were too casual or not casual enough. Mr Jenkins opened the door with a warm, friendly smile.

"Miss Townsend. How wonderful you joined us today." He opened the door wide enough so she could come in. "You didn't bring a jacket? See, that's an appropriate response to this weather. My wife thinks that just because it isn't 100 degrees outside you need to put on a parka and boots." Taylor laughed slightly. They went into the living room, Mickey ran up and hugged her. Mrs Jenkins was talking with someone in the parlour.

"You came. You actually came! This is awesome. When Ashley sees you she's gonna go crazy. Ashley likes to spin around and throw everything on the ground. I think it's kinda weird but whatever. As long as she isn't coming after me begging to play basket ball I'm good." Taylor grinned at Mickey getting along with his siblings so well.

"Honey, Taylor's here." Mr Jenkins said and Mrs Jenkins came into the living room with...

"Ryan." Taylor breathed out. Mr and Mrs Jenkins looked confused.

"You two know each other?" Mrs Jenkins asked Ryan who smiled slightly at Taylor and rubbed the back of his neck. Mickey looked between Ryan and Taylor.

"Yeah. From Newport." He said. Taylor nodded.

"Yeah, yes. We went to school. In Newport." Mickey poked her arm.

"So is he cool? 'Cause you know, I can kick his ass for you." Taylor laughed.

"Hey! Kid, you could never take me down." Ryan said to Mickey. He forgot how much he missed her laugh. Mr and Mrs Jenkins exchanged looks.

"Well since you're finally here, we should eat. I hope you're not allergic to anything. I made spaghetti Bolognese." The elder woman smiled.

"That's my favourite."

"That's her favourite." Ryan and Taylor said it at the same time. '_Well, this isn't going to be awkward AT ALL._' Taylor thought to herself as she tried to ignore the fact that his eyes were burning into hers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **WHA? I am not Josh Schwartz? Then WHY AM I SO RICH? Oh wait, I'm in a mental asylum. He he. BITCHES CAN'T GET ME. Also, my Beta is being totally useless because she's too busy with real life so this chapter sucks. And it IS the last chapter. Might write an epilogue but I wouldn't be too sure about that.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

The dinner was awkward. They both walked outside. Her car was parked close by to his. She turned to him.

"So, when did you get into town?" He looked down.

"About two months ago. Got a job offer in Jenkins' construction firm as an architect. Have no idea how but it seemed good. So I took it." She nodded. "Marissa and I broke up."

"I heard. Sorry about that." He shook his head.

"No, it was for the best. There was too much going on in that relationship. But I probably shouldn't talk to you about that." Taylor smiled and looked at the house.

"Yeah, probably not." She thought for a second before turning sharply back to look at him. Ryan looked confused as to what she was doing. "No. You know what? You should talk to me about this. We're not teenagers any more, we're adults. We should go about this the right way. And we should be friends again. I mean we will see each other at one point. San Francisco is not that big. Well yes, the current population is 7.6 million but-"

"Taylor."

"No, what I mean is..." She took a deep breath. "I want to be mature about this whole situation. We were friends, we dated, you dumped me, we got married, we divorced and now we should be friends again. I guess, that's what I'm saying." He stared at her for about two seconds.

"Okay. Then let's go to dinner. Just the two of us. Like friends. Trying to catch up." She smiled.

"Yeah. Let's do that. I'll drive behind you."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

They ended up having sex in his car in the restaurant parking lot. They didn't mean to. It just happened. They were in there till it closed. Then they ended up talking in the parking lot, and then they kissed, who kissed whom was irrelevant at that point. Taylor fell on his chest out of breath, his arms tightly wrapped around her whilst he too tried to catch his breath.

"What...is...wrong with...us?" Taylor breathed out. "I mean...we either argue...or we fuck...what kind of people...do that?"

"I don't know." Ryan said. "But sex I've heard is a natural part of life. We just...we...we're not normal..." She sat up and looked at him.

"Ryan, we shouldn't have sex. Okay? No matter how badly we want to we won't do it." Ryan nodded, the light from the streetlamp made his blue eyes stand out. "Oh hell." She said and kissed him thus resulting in another round of sex in Ryan Atwood's car.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Summer Roberts could not believe her eyes when she saw Taylor Townsend standing in the kitchen with a wife-beater shirt on and Ryan Atwood behind her with only a towel. Seth Cohen just grinned at his brother.

"Summer. Seth. What are you two doing here? How did you get in?" Taylor asked politely with a mildly panicky look in her eyes.

"We decided to come and visit you and to visit Ryan but apparently we killed two birds with one stone." Summer said still in shock. Taylor's jaw dropped.

"You killed two birds?" She asked her friend unconvinced. "I thought you were an eco friendly activist."

"It's a figure of speech Taylor! Explain this!" Summer yelled and Seth flinched.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go and put on some clothes." Ryan said. Taylor turned and grabbed his arm.

"Don't leave me." She hissed at him. Ryan smiled.

"I can't, you're wearing my shirt." Yet he still went into her bedroom to put on some pants. Taylor turned back to scary Summer and grinning Seth.

"Taylor. Talk."

"Summer, how did you get in? You never answered."

"The door was unlocked."

"No, it wasn't."

"Fine, I picked the lock. Now stop changing the subject and answer me!" Seth closed the door that he noticed was still open. Ryan came back to the living room.

"Well you see, we're doing this thing...it's really hard to explain." Taylor sighed frustrated. "Ryan and I are engaged." Seth's jaw dropped.

"Why? You were already married once and that didn't work out well." Taylor's head dropped when she heard Summer said that. Ryan put his arm around her waist.

"Because Summer, my dear and non-judgemental friend, me and Taylor are in love this time." He said slowly so the girl would understand. Summer looked sceptical for a good minute but then she got a huge grin on her face and smiled to hug her friends.

"Oh I'm so happy!" She shouted. "Finally a happy ending. You deserve it Taylor. Atwood, if you break her heart again I will castrate you to the point where even the eunuchs won't want you in their clan." Ryan nodded a bit shocked and looked at his brother who still had his jaw on the floor. Taylor went to put on some clothes and gave back Ryan his shirt. Ryan then suggested that him and Seth go and do their own thing while the two girls talk. At Ryan's apartment, he looked again at his brother who was still quiet.

"Hey man, you okay? You haven't spoken in hours." Seth sat down.

"You sure you want to marry Taylor? I mean, I love her, she's like my sister but you...are you sure you want to marry Taylor?" Ryan buttoned up his shirt.

"Seth, I'm not gonna loose her again."

"Good." Seth grinned. "We gotta plan your bachelor party now. Let's decide, strippers in Vegas or hookers in New York?"

"Woah, dude, I'm not getting married for at least a year. We can slow down with the planning." Seth shook his head.

"It's better to start on these things early so we can practice lying to the girls. The more we practice the better we get at it." Ryan shook his head.

"I am not going to lie to Taylor." Seth stood up and patted his shoulder.

"It's sweet you believe that. But you're getting married buddy. At one point or another, you two are gonna lie."

"And how do you know this?"

"Years of solitude and no friends gave me an opportunity to study my parents."

"You're a horrible person."

"I know, that's why until you came along I was friendless. Thanks man. Really did me a favour." He grinned at his brother who wasn't sure whether Seth was serious or not.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

**A/N: Yes, we have come to the end of the story. I hope you liked it. And if you didn't then WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU READING THIS? SERIOUSLY. WHY MAKE YOUR EYES BLEED? Anyways, I may write some sort of a short drabble about RT married or something but I don't know. Finishing this story was hard. I LOVE YOU ALL WHO HAVE READ IT. HERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOU. WHAT THE GIRLS WERE TALKING ABOUT WHEN RYAN AND SETH LEFT TAYLOR'S.**

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

"How could you not tell me?" Summer asked. Taylor shrugged.

"I wasn't ready for everyone to know."

"But I'm not everyone." Taylor gave Summer a look. "Fine, I can be a chatterbox sometimes but the important stuff I keep to myself. Like the fact that Seth has a tattoo of me. Oh crap." Taylor smiled sympathetically.

"Don't worry. Everyone knows about the tattoo."

"Not about this one."

"He got another one? Where?" Summer cringed.

"On his butt. Eew."

"Wow. Want some ice cream?"

"Yes please. Why do I have to be in love with a child?" She let the words form in her head before she plonked her head down on the bar counter. "Eew."


End file.
